What is The Best Time to Change The Old Used Car?

by Govind Goswami I am passionate about taking

Many consumers have the impression that there are some hard and fast rules for the ultimate age at which a car should be sold. According to industry experts, there is no particular age where the depreciation and value curves combine at their most beneficial. You might be worrying about a number of aspects, such as what is an appropriate value for your old car, when your next major service will be due (and how much that will cost), along with trying to get a firm price for out of warranty repairs. Cars do most of their depreciating in the first nine months. However, if you are on the lookout to sell a car to trade up, it is advisable to sell it while it is relatively new, because the younger a car is, the more it is worth.

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That being said, one should also keep in mind that a more influential factor is the market, and consumers have no control over it. Industry insiders suggest that when cars reach five years old their failure rate is higher than at any time in their life, and start to go wrong more from about 60,000 miles. So the mantra is- if you sell too early, you will be bugged by depreciation, and on the other hand, leaving it too late will involve reliability as a key factor. Then there is also the fluctuating market to be taken into consideration.

Luxury cars generally have the steepest depreciation in the first years of ownership but will regain their resale value fairly quickly, thanks to their limited availability. Popular cars tend to have a slower depreciation curve since they never have a dearth in terms of supply. However, their resale value spikes later on and depends more acutely on how well-maintained the vehicle is. Whether your car is in or out of warranty will also factor into how valuable your car is. A vehicle with even some factory warranty available should carry a little more value as compared to a vehicle without, since that way, potential buyers are reassured of the fact that the manufacturer will cover them just in case something goes wrong.

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It is also important to note that your car is often the second biggest investment after a home. This implies that generally, it is rare for anyone to buy a car (especially a new one) without some finance. If you have financed more than 40% of the vehicle, making a profit when you resell your vehicle may seem difficult until the loan is paid out. This could miss the point when your car is at its most valuable to used car buyers. The goal is to sell your old car at an amount that will pay out your finance and hopefully also give you enough to put a deposit towards your next car.